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Hair shedding
For all you alopecians out there, did/do you have hair shedding? How long did it last, if it went away? Did it coincide with your patches/loss? Did anything help your shedding decrease? And how did the hair look when it fell out - bulb or no bulb, broken or intact?
I started to shed early January 2013, but didn't notice it much. I went from losing about 10-20 hairs a day, to about 50 and just went "ah well." Then, at the end of Jan, I found my first patch, and began to notice I was losing about 80-120 hairs a day, depending on if it was a day I washed my hair or not. By February until the May 2013, I began to shed 150-350 a day, the lower number for when I didn't wash my hair, and the higher number for when I did wash. I also noticed many patches, and the patches I had previously were growing huge!
It's now the end of June, and my shedding is back "down" to about 100-150 a day, but honestly, given I've lost about 50-60% of my scalp hair, I feel like my shedding decreased because there isn't much left to fall out.
In the beginning, a vast majority of my hairs had bulbs on them. I hear that that could indicate telogen effluvium, but to this day, I am not too sure if that's what I had/currently have. Then in March-May, a majority of my shed hairs had no bulbs. Now, at the end of June, the hairs that are falling out are a pretty even mix of bulbs and no bulbs hair.
I tried not washing my hair often in the beginning, but I still lost a lot, and now i wash my scalp with a specialized shampoo/conditioner/tonic every day to every other day as directed by my hair specialist. I started this regimen at the end of April, and maybe not related, but that was when my shedding started to ever so slightly decrease.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Patricia on
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I was very distressed after I found a patch in my scalp. it was spreading very fast and hair fall rate was too high. I was really concerned and doing some research on the Internet on how to stop this by herbal things. I was so lucky I found Arganlife Products and now i have been using it for a while my shedding stopped, and some new hair came out..
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I have 10 patches as of now, not including my thinned right eyebrow, and the loss of a few millimeters of right eye last hairs... but I feel like even those ten patches wouldn't be AS bad if I wasn't shedding hair on top of the alopecia areata. Back in early March, I still had enough thickness to cover my patches without needing a hat. But by the end of March, I had to start wearing fedoras and baseball caps to hide the patches. And other than my first three patches, none of the others have grown (knock on wood!), so the hair shedding makes me that much more sad and upset.
I have gotten so many blood tests done, including the ferritin one.. and lucky me, nothing is wrong, other than the hair patches and hair loss!
Got a wig this past weekend though, but maybe because I was rushing or maybe because I was nervous or maybe just because of the lighting, it looks terrible! And it was expensive to boot, no returns! So I feel a little worse for wear with all the shedding and spots.
Hope everyone else is staying strong, and staying hopeful!
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Permalink Reply by Simon on
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I had my alopecia around the same time you did, but ive only counted my hair once, and it was over 20, and i was like "this is crazy" so i stopped counting ever since. I'm certain it never exceeded 50 a day for me. I had have bulby hairs, thin hair, split hair, and exclamation point hairs fall out. Whenever i do wash my hair (sometimes i do twice a day, and other times i do it nightly) they shedding varies. This month, however, i'm noticing more shedding, and i think the heat is a factor for me. (I work outside)
At first i had one tiny patch, unnoticeable to me until i kept scratching it, which was odd but i carried on my day. Later on, a friend found a second patch. Several weeks later, I now have one giant spot (the two merged into one).
During my alopecia shedding, i noticed a strange sensation on my scalp. It feels like a spider/bug is crawling all over your hair, and in hindsight, my guess is that the hairs were shedding.
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Permalink Reply by Leelee on
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Hi there,
The shedding is a constant reminder of Alopecia for me...I have AA...didn't really notice the shedding until the patches were noticeable (about a year ago)...and then it was a slow and constant shed of strands mostly with bulbs...especially apparent in the morning getting breakfast...a regular tickle on my arm would reveal another hair. I had a very thick head of hair...now, despite the patches which are mostly growing back, my hair is half the amount. I had shedding every day for at least 8 months with 20 -50 hairs a day. Now I get maybe 5 a day (& without bulbs) so it has really reduced! I also have large and very painful lumps on my head which seem to coincide in the spots where patches develop. I also mostly use a shampoo which is medicated like Nizoral 2 as i used to have an itchy scalp with intense flaking before this all started. I figured it cant hurt!
best wishes...try not to stress about it...easy to say..but i think for me the stress is a trigger...oh I also had a horrible sensation that my scalp was crawling with bugs prior to the whole thing last year...
{If you want to condition / dye your hair - i highly recommend natural 'henna' *red, 'indigo'*black ( both from leaves) and 'cassia' *neutral (from bark) products - just make sure they come from reputable supplier}. xx
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Hi Leelee, I have the same experience as you. Whenever my scalp itches badly, I always noticed a new bald spot forming in that area shortly after. Sometimes I also get red pimple-like bumps around the itchy area. They are usually painful too.
I also constantly get hair trickling down my arm. When this happens, I am reminded of my AA condition. I was shedding roughly 150-200 hair per day when my AA started. Now, 3 months later, the shedding has increased to at least 300 I think! This despite having had 2 rounds of steroid jabs so far. I have started using minoxidil 5% so will have to wait and see if it helps to suppress the shedding.
My dermatologists said that the hair growth cycle is about 3 months so I should be seeing some regrowth soon. I dunno. I'm sceptical.
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Hi, I've had alopecia twice. Areata when I was 19 for roughly 2 years and Universalis many years later. My hair has grown back on both my body and scalp which I believe to be a complete miracle. Shedding was how both started and even Universalis started off with circular shedding but i rapidly lost all body and scalp hair within 3 months the last time around. Being that I have had quite the experience on all levels with this disease and declined the kemo therapy a doctor suggested for possible hair growth, I truly beleive the most important thing is change from within. I do swear by ginger as I would juice the root and rub it all over my head daily.
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Hi Epo,
I currently have AU but when I was going through my initial phases of AA, they were definitely accompanied by massive amounts of hair loss. Initially I'd attribute the loss of hair to a change in climate, or perhaps a particular brand of shampoo, but soon after I saw the patches did I realize that it was much more than just normal hair loss.
When I was younger, and the patches were really small, the doctor would recommend low concentrations of steroid ointment and they'd usually keep the patchiness under check. As the shedding got more frequent, I received injections in the locations and they worked well for a while too but eventually the hairloss outpaced the regrowth from treatment.
Not sure if that was helpful, but happy to answer more specifics. I hope that the shedding stops for you!
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Permalink Reply by Nicolle joi houseman on
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I have been shedding daily since 2007 now. I have lost at least half of my hair. Sometimes i can see little sprouts of hair growing in the front of the scalp, but i have thinning all over my head now. I have to use joan rivers great hair day to cover the bald patches. Its devastating because the shedding is constant. I dont know what to expect if i am just going to go completely bald or what!!
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I just noticed my patches a week and a half ago and freaked so I rushed to the doctor who said I have Alopecia and then my husband ask me if maybe the hair care products i used were the cause so I thought "maybe" and I stopped using them and started using the medication from the doctor and bam! I already have growth IT WAS THE WEN HAIR CARE PRODUCTS !!!!!!!! Be warned if you using it.
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Hi Everyone! My alopecia had started back in 2011 when my doctor put me on spironolactone for acne. I was only on it for 6 month when I noticed that I had a thicker head of hair than I ever had. It was sooo amazing, but at the same time I would experience very slight shedding while on it, every now and then. I decided to go off of spiro because it gave me irritable bowel syndrome.
After I had completely gone off spiro, my hair went through a massive shedding stage that never stopped. Nine Months later I went on Accutane, since I still had terrible acne. I stayed on it for only 4 months because it was lowering my blood pressure pretty bad. So! I also heard that high levels of vitamin A can trigger hair loss, which I am convinced agrivated my situation even more. Nevertheless, I am still struggling with terrible hair loss. Initially, it was 100 strands and now it fluctuates between 50-60 strands a day. Over a rough two-year period, I have now lost more than half of my hair. My ponytail is sooo small. My hair does not look good down anymore nor does it look good up because you can see my scalp in certain areas. I was diagnosed with diffused alopecia last year and the doctor suggested Rogaine for men 5% and Propecia, as I cannot take spironolactone.
So ladies and gents..that is my story and I am terrified, just like all of you, that I will end up bald at 34. Let's continue to be there for each other and support each other through this rough time. I wish you all well!
Hugs**
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Oh! Also, a few tips..start using the rogaine. You will notice an inital shedding, but it will subside. I have been using rogaine now for 1.5 months, and that could be what has slowed the shedding down a bit. I have also started vitamin supplements, especially Zinc. Google benefits of Zinc. It is worth a try. I will keep you guys posted to let you know what I found has helped and what has not.
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Permalink Reply by Amanda on
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When mine falls out it has no bulb and is white at the root. Anyone else experience this?
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